The Effects of Demand-Driven International Service on Bridging Social Capital

1. The Effects of Demand-Driven International Service on Bridging Social Capital Benjamin J Lough, PhD School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2. International Service and Social Work • International volunteer service (IVS) is an organized period of engagement and contribution to society by those who volunteer across a national border. • International volunteer activities span the full spectrum of social work interventions • Education, child welfare, health, environmental sustainability, disaster risk reduction… • IVS-related activity is often the initial introduction to international social work practice

3. International service and social capital • A significant advantage of volunteer service over other forms of development assistance may be the person-to-person relationships developed. • Shared trust, knowledge of local customs, ‘altruistic’ motivation, participatory, etc. • Volunteerism can help create bridging social capital1 • Social capital: social networks used to coordinate action or generate resources2 • Social networks have real political and economic value/capital.1 • Social capital generated through volunteer service can help bridge resource and power disparities.3 • The most common form of international volunteerism is North to South.4

4. Recent trends in international service • Structures of IVS are changing in response to global demands • Growing market of nonprofit and for profit programs • Tailored to interests of potential volunteers • Increase in short-term volunteering, often combined with adventure tourism • Less responsive to demands from host communities; more responsive to supply of volunteers • Difficult to establish relationships and mobilize resources for development purposes

5. Research Questions • Are the development and use of international social capital affected by attributes commonly associated with demand-driven placements? • Longer service duration • Cultural immersion • Higher language capacity of volunteers • Previous international experience • Institutional support • Reciprocal community partnerships • Are perceptions of community demand for services associated with higher perceptions of international social capital?

6. Research Design • Longitudinal survey • Sample drawn from two organizations • Vary in service duration, activities, living and working contexts, etc. • Randomly selected 250 volunteers per organization • Administered the International Volunteer Impacts Survey (IVIS) in 2008 and 2010 • Baseline: 72% response rate • Post-test: 68% response rate

7. Methods: Data Analysis • Multiple imputation for missing data • MCMC method, combining five datasets • Non-response analysis • Logistic regression, 11 demographic variables • Estimating treatment effects (2 models) • Cross-sectional: Ordinary least squares regression • Longitudinal: Linear mixed-effects modeling with AR(1) covariance structure

8. Measurement: Dependent Variables

9. Examples of social capital in action • Provide money and resources • “I helped organize a system where schools from my home state collected books and school supplies to send to my school in Namibia.” • Coordinate fundraising / grant writing • “I set up fundraising efforts toward a specific deficit that I saw while there.” • Engage in advocacy • “I use these connections in advocating for arts/artists in Oceania.”

10. Results: Regression equations 1Model r2 = .19; F = 3.66, df = 13, SE of the Estimate = 1.19, p < .001, N = 221; *p < .05, **p < .01, 2Model -2 Rest. Log Likelihood = 1,634, covariance AR(1) estimate = 2.52, SE = .20, Wald Z = 12.89, p < .001

11. Summary • International voluntary service may be an effective method for utilizing social capital to promote development. • Resources are commonly channeled through local grassroots organizations. • Community-driven service priorities and longer-term service duration are more likely to result in the development of contactswith people and organizations abroad. • Prior international service and language proficiency have a positive effect on whether connections and resources are leveraged to benefit host communities.

12. Limitations • Samples drawn from two organizations operating in two countries • Difficult to generalize • Self-report data • Possible selection and non-response bias • Measures do not assess the strength of relationships • Theoretical importance of weak ties to resource acquisition5

13. Implications • Policy • Modest contribution to the discussion on “smart aid” • Mounting evidence on the value of longer-term IVS placements • Sending-programs should be concerned with the duration of placements and volunteers’ language capacity • Community practice • Support for local partnership model • A primary advantage of international service may be the advocacy of Southern concerns in Northern countries (qualitative data). • Research • Examine the sustainability of relationships over time and the longer-term outcomes of international service on social capital

14. References • Stecker, Christina (2002): Vergütete Solidarität und solidarische Vergütung: Zur Förderung von Ehrenamt und Engagement durch den Sozialstaat. Opladen: Leske and Budrich • DeFilippis, J. (2001). The myth of social capital in community development. Housing Policy Debate, 12(4), 781-806; Woolcock, M. (1998). Social capital and economic development: Toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framework Journal of Theory and Society, 27(2), 151-208. • Woolcock, Michael and Deepa Narayan (2000): Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy. World Bank Research Observer, 12 (2), pp. 225-249.; Randel, J., German, T., Cordiero, M., & Baker, L. (2005). International volunteering: trends, added value and social capital. Oslo: Final Report: Development Initiatives. • Sherraden, M. S., Stringham, J., Sow, S. C., & McBride, A. M. (2006). The forms and structure of international voluntary service. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 17, 163-180. • Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(May), 1360-1380.